Wednesday, December 21, 2016

She's really not easy to distract from the iphone as soon as I'm holding it up like a camera. (Even when I try and use stealth - lol)

So, I say: "Mommy, you look so sad. Are you sad?"
She says: "Noooo."
Then I say: "Are you happy?"
She says: "Yes."
Then I say: "Can you smile for the camera."
She says: "I'll try."
And the above expression is the best I get out of her.

It's really early in the morning. It's too early even for birds, but Mommy and I are awake. I laid her back down and now she's watching pretty scenes on her TV while we wait for the sun to come up. I don't take too many pictures of her lying on her side, but she does get turned on her side from time to time, and here is a pic to prove it.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

The Hospice nurse suggested that we let her hold on to rolled up washcloths to help with the contractures she's developing in her hands. Mom's so cute with these washcloths. She examines them really critically and turns her hands this way and that to look at them, and then when she wants to look at her book or card or other object that I've got lying there to entertain her, she lays the washcloth carefully aside. Mommy makes me smile.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Sunday, December 4, 2016

The whole time she was getting her breakfast poured through the tube, she was just intent on this book, and she was so happily intent. She was just exuding a feeling of deep interest. (I'm not sure what she was looking at, but whatever it was, it's amazing.)

So, I decided to share with you, and as soon as I took the picture, she looked right up -- for the first time in probably a half hour. I think she's got some kind of "picture" radar. (The phone doesn't make noise. She just knows.)

When she looked up, I said: "I love you," and she said: "You do?" with this tone of amazement, and here is the picture of her saying that:

Friday, December 2, 2016

It's been a long time.

Soon after my last post, Mom was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and acute respiratory failure. She was dangerously ill, and I thought for quite a few days that she wasn't going to make it, and then there was so much going on that I didn't have the energy to think about blogging. Then we were home, and I had to learn to care for her with a PEG tube and even less mobility and communication than she had before. I got to know some wonderful home-health care and then Hospice personnel. Without their help, I don't know how I could have kept my sense of humor, let my sanity, but life seemed too overwhelming to blog.

After that, writing the post that I'm writing now grew more and more easy to put off as the amount of things I had to catch a reader up on grew and grew with every passing day, then week, then month.

Frankly, if I write a "catch-up post" with just the highlights of the last five months, it will be pretty long and cumbersome to read, let alone write. So, I'm just going to start as though I'd never stopped or as though this is a brand-new blog just starting fresh in the middle of life.

Mommy is watching space documentaries on Youtube today. She is just fixated on descriptions of stars and whether or not Pluto is a real planet or merely a dwarf one.

Friday, May 20, 2016

So, it's been a terrifying day with mommy. She's having trouble remembering how to swallow properly, and her throat is irritated and filled with mucus. I was warned about this. The first visiting nurse who ever came to the house talked to me about it, but you can't warn somebody sufficiently for the feeling they will get when they are caring for a person who is having trouble swallowing little bits of ice. I sat on the bed for hours last night, dripping one after another into her mouth. Long story short. Called the doctor first thing this morning, and she's sending out a visiting nurse to evaluate mom and she's scheduled a speech therapist. (Apparently speech therapy can help with the complicated maneuvers it takes for a human to swallow). So, I'm doing all the things the MD told me to do, and Mom's room smells amazing thanks to my mom-in-law and her essential oil humidifier and peppermint (good for clearing all the mucus Mommy is accumulating in her throat). Prayers are so appreciated. Please pray for my mother. I've been thinking a lot about praying without ceasing since she came to live with me - I think every breath a prayer - and today I've learned the every swallow (without chocking) is a praise.

I'm wondering if the new air purifier might be part to blame. As I was dealing with this today I realized that I've got a lot of mucus build-up in my throat, too, and then I thought about how I was sleeping in the chair in her room all night with the air purifier blowing on me. Then, I googled, and sure enough dry air is a contributor to mucus formation in the throat. Well, it's off now, and Mommy is not having much trouble at all swallowing her apple sauce.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

I'm begging and pleading for a smile as she looks at me like I'm crazy. Until she finally makes this face and says: "I AM doing it." So, I give up. She's adorable. Who could call this face she's making "not a smile""

(Note: the band-aid are because she's been scratching at that mole on her forehead. She's fiddled with it before and made it bleed and get infected - years ago when she still lived in Factoryville. I'm hoping the band-aids will keep her from messing with it until it heals. One band-aid is insufficient. She pulls it off. So far - one day - two have stayed on just fine.)

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Friday, January 29, 2016

I've been so busy and stressed that I forgot to post (and take) pics this last week. I meant to take one today, and then suddenly it was night, and mom is asleep. This pic is from a couple days ago. As you can see, she's tired but feeling better.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

She's so uncomfortable that it would make you cry to see the rash she's enduring.

The doctor has her on an antiviral, and hopefully she'll feel better very soon.

But, I'm having a hard time getting her to eat or drink. She has no appetite and no interest in drinking or eating. Above she's eating the last banana. (That was earlier today, in the morning.)

Later, though, Stephan brought home more for her, but they were too green to eat easily (and she's so out of it, I'm worried about her choking). So, I mashed it up for her. Hopefully, she'll eat some. If not I'll feed it to her. I got her to eat applesauce this morning and managed to feed a little bit of her oatmeal before she refused to eat any more. Also, got one Boost down, but she is mostly refusing to drink. Shingles is a horrible, painful event.

You can see the pain in her face :-(

Edit: Stephan got her to laugh, though. He came in eating an onion like most people eat apples, and he offered her some. She laughed at that. He's a really good person for cheering a body up!